Calendar:Discussed the date in English and Spanish and wrote it in number form. Samuel was not here today so Miss Kim did the calendar. She put the number on the calendar, discussed the weather, and found the day of the week in Spanish. We reviewed our colors, shapes, sight words, Spanish, and Sign Language words. We discussed the pattern on the calendar.

Fun Facts/Brainstorming: We reviewed what they learned about chickadees. Today the children told me all they know about Ostriches. the children looked at the ostrich card and discussed that the ostrich is the world’s largest bird and has strong kicking feet. Fun Facts: Ostriches never need to drink water because they produce it internally and they also get it from their food. There are over 2 million ostriches in the world. Ostriches have been on earth for 70-120 million years. Ostriches have good immune systems. Their eye is bigger than its brain. They are the largest bird in the world. It can grow up to 9 ft tall and 350 pounds. They can not fly, instead they run. A male is called a rooster, a female is called a hen. They eat leaves, roots,insects,flowers,grass and fruit. We used a measuring tape to show 9 feet and how tall they can be.

Creative Development: Discussed: How does your family recognize you? A mother ostrich knows her own eggs, even if other eggs look like them. I showed the children the egg book, and we talked about the different color of eggs. They would be getting their own book to make this afternoon.

Social and Emotional Development: Discussed: What do you need to build a home? Most ostriches dig a hole in the dirt that is surrounded by tall grass to keep its eggs safe. I showed them the nest art they would be making this afternoon. We discussed what bird might live in this nest, and how many eggs can the nest hold.

Mathematics and Reasoning: Discussed: What shapes do you see when you look at birds? I placed the foam shapes on the floor and had a child place one shape on the Shape Design mat. We did this until the chart was full. We discussed how birds heads, bodies, and wings can be shaped like ovals.

Language and Literacy:Discussed: What do you think an ostrich eats? Ostriches eat plants, shrubs, grasses and grasshoppers. They even swallow sand and stones to help digest (break down) the other food. We read the Little Theater story aloud. We discussed the story while we read. The children answered questions to see if they understood what happened in the story.

Afternoon Centers:Center 1:Outside PlayCenter 2: Egg Book- Each child got a book kit and had to cut out different eggs and birds and glue them to the blank pages. Center 3: Nest- With items from nature they built a nest using glue and paint. Center 4: I can write sheet- The children practiced writing their capital and lowercase Bb and Nn.

Calendar:Discussed the date in English and Spanish and wrote it in number form. Samuel put the number on the calendar, discussed the weather, and found the day of the week in Spanish. He reviewed our colors, shapes, sight words, Spanish, and Sign Language words. We discussed the pattern.

Fun Facts/Brainstorming: We reviewed what they learned about hummingbirds. Today we discussed Chickadees. The children told me where in this room is a good hiding place. Fun Facts: Chickadees are identified easily by their namesake called “chick-a-dee.” Only about 20% of the Black-capped’s daily energy intake comes from feeders, and about half of the overall winter diet is made up of such animal matter as spiders, dormant insects and even carrion. Mountain Chickadees are mainly foliage gleaners, searching for spiders and larvae at the tips of the branches.

Mathematics and Reasoning: Discussed: How fast can you hop? How slowly can you hop? Chickadees hop almost as much as they fly. They are very active birds, especially when chasing a meal. (Caterpillars are their favorite) The children hopped around like chickadees. We had an oval taped to the floor. I placed caterpillars (yarn) in the oval and had them catch them for lunch. We counted the hops it took to get to the caterpillar. Each child got the chance to do this.

Language and Literacy: Discussed: What color would you like your flight feathers to be if you were a bird? We looked at the I Can Write sheet, the children held their hands up like wings. The children said “flap” each time they moved their wings up and down. They got their own I Can Write sheet this afternoon and will repeat the motions in colored pencil.

Social and Emotional Development: Discussed: How many children are in your family? Most chickadees lay about 6-8 eggs in a nest. We all played the folder game. The objective was for each child to collect one complete set of nest, bird and egg cards. When rolling the die and moving the piece that many spaces around the game board. If they landed on the letters this is what they would have had to do: N- Take a nest card. B- Take a bird card. E-Take an egg card. There were a few game spaces that made them put one of the cards back.

Physical Development:Discussed: What would you do if you saw something dangerous? Birds make more than one sound. Chickadees sing their name “chickadee-dee-dee” when they see danger or strangers. A stranger is someone who you, or the adult you are with does not know or recognize. We pretended to be approached by a stranger. The children yelled “chickadee-dee-dee” and flew away!

Afternoon Centers:Center 1:Outside PlayCenter 2: The children used colored pencils and did the I Can Write sheet. Center 3: I Can Write Sheet- The children practiced writing the capital and lowercase Ee.

Calendar:Discussed the date in English and Spanish and wrote it in number form. Samuel put the number on the calendar, discussed the weather, and found the day of the week in Spanish. He reviewed our colors, shapes, sight words, Spanish, and Sign Language words. We discussed the pattern.

Fun Facts/Brainstorming: We reviewed what they learned about Eagles. Today we discussed hummingbirds, and how they can move backwards. I explained that the hummingbird is the only bird that is capable of flying backwards and the only bird that can hover. Fun Facts: Hummingbirds are the tiniest birds in the world. The bright radiant color on hummingbirds comes from iridescent coloring like on a soap or prism. A Gorget is the bright flashing colored feathers of the hummingbird’s neck. A hummingbird’s brain is 4.2% of its body weight. Hummingbirds can hear better than humans. Hummingbirds can see farther than humans. They can see UV-light. They have no sense of smell. Their heart beats up to 1,260 times per minute. A hummingbird can weigh anywhere between 2 and 20 grams.

Creative Development: Discussed: What is your favorite food or drink? The hummingbird eats more than any other animal? It consumes 6-12 times its body weight each day. Each child got a cup of water and I had them drink out of a straw. The straw allows them to drink without using their hands. The hummingbird does not use its hands or claws to drink with. They will get to make their own hummingbirds this afternoon.

Language and Literacy:Discussed: What would happen if you ate the same thing everyday? I explained that although a hummingbird’s main source of food is flower nectar, it also eats small insects and plucks bugs from a spider web. We made a spider web out of masking tape. I placed the bugs on the web so that they stood up. Each child took turns pecking the bugs off the web. They had to tell me the letters that were on the bugs that they caught. We did this until each child had a turn.

Physical Development: Discussed: When do you eat? A hummingbird has to eat about every ten minutes. It has to limit its sleep so it doesn’t starve while sleeping. I set the timer for 10 minutes and when it went off we discussed how a hummingbird is no eating. We kept resetting the timer while we did lessons to show how many times a hummingbird eats.Hummingbirds need to regain their energy, so do we. The children did 18 jumping jacks with me, and when we were done we got to drink their water with a straw to replenish. We discussed what it means to feel refreshed. We then ran 18 laps around the room, after which we got another drink of water. Water and exercise is so very important for our bodies, they both keep us healthy. We kept doing all kinds of different exercises until they got tired and then they would fly to their straws to get a drink and replenish then fly off again to play.

Social and Emotional Development: Discussed: What is your favorite color flower? Hummingbirds will sip nectar from any color flower, but they prefer the nectar from the red ones. I placed three flowers around the room of different colors. The children had to follow my directions to go to the certain color flower. We flitted rapidly to the blue flower. We tiptoed to a yellow flower. Lastly we flew backwards to a red flower. We did this several times and went faster and faster.

Afternoon Centers:Center 1: Outside PlayCenter 2: Hummingbird Art- They traced their hands and put them together to make a hummingbird. They then tore pieces of tissue paper to glue onto the chest and added a straw for its beak.

Calendar:Discussed the date in English and Spanish and wrote it in number form. Samuel is the new calendar boy for this week. He was not here today so Miss Kim did the calendar. She put the number on the calendar, discussed the weather, and found the day of the week in Spanish. We reviewed our colors, shapes, sight words, Spanish, and Sign Language words. We discussed the pattern.

Fun Facts/Brainstorming: We reviewed what they learned about Easter. The children told us what they got to do over Easter and things that they got. Today we discussed Eagles and how big their nests are. Eagles build the largest nests known of all birds (some as big as 10 feet wide and tall). We used a measuring tape to see how big that is. The children told us things they know about Eagles. Fun Facts: Bald Eagles are found in North America. The Great Seal of the U.S. features a Bald Eagle. There are over 60 different species of the eagle. Bald Eagles aren’t actually bald. Female eagles are larger than males. Bald eagles live to be around 20 years old. Their nests can weigh up to a ton! They were added to the endangered species list in 1967 and its numbers have improved.

Mathematics and Reasoning: Discussed: What can you see from very far away? The eagle is able to see small objects from over a mile and a half away. This helps it find food. It then uses its soaring and diving skills to catch it. We looked at the Eagle Eye Poster and played ISpy. The children loved this! Each child will get an I spy sheet to take home.

Language and Literacy:Discussed: Why do you think nests are important for keeping eggs safe? We discussed the letter “E” and what words begin with “E”. We looked in the dictionary to find more E words. This letter was harder for the children to say the sound of the short e.

Creative Development:Discussed: What is sharp on your body? We continued to talk about the letter “E”. I showed them how to write the letter the right way and the wrong way as well. Each child got to come up and practice the letter “Ee” on the white board. The children got the opportunity to practice writing their letter “Ee” in their My Little Journal that afternoon. This letter was a little more difficult to write for some of the children.

Science: Discussed: What do you think it means for a bird to be endangered? Eagles almost disappeared, they were once endangered. This means they were in danger of not being around anymore (extinct). We discussed what could make an animal sick. Some examples are drinking water poisoned by pollution, lack of food, and being hunted. We discussed ways to keep animals safe and how we can help clean up the places where animals live. Each child will get an Endangered Animal Badge and get to decorate it this afternoon.

Show and Tell:Each child brought in an E item. They came up one at a time to show their item and discuss why they brought it.

Afternoon Centers:Center 1:Outside playCenter 2: My Little Journal: Went to the “E” page and practiced writing the capital and lowercase Ee. The children were then to write the Capital letter E on the top of the page to represent an eagle’s talons. They then drew something in the E to show the eagle had caught it.Center 3: Animal Badge- They got to decorate a badge with crayons or markers.

Each child got to go outside and search for the eggs we hid earlier in the morning! Even the babies got to pick a special toy out from the Easter Bunny! After the hunt was finished, we went inside and decided who had the most eggs! During lunch the kids received a Easter cookie from Miss Kim! They loved it. Gretchen said, “This is the best day of my whole life!” Each child took home a candy bag and a money bag! Happy Easter!

Calendar:Discussed the date in English and Spanish and wrote it in number form. Thomas put the number on the calendar, discussed the weather, and found the day of the week in Spanish. He reviewed our colors, shapes, sight words, Spanish, and Sign Language words. We also discussed the pattern.

Fun Facts/Brainstorming: We reviewed what they learned about a woodpecker. Today we discussed Easter. Discussed: Does your family celebrate Easter? What is y our favorite part? Explained that different families might celebrate the same holidays in different ways. We discussed facts about why we celebrate Easter and that it is a religious holiday.

Creative Development: Discussed: What does Easter mean for your family? I showed the children the Easter basket they would be making in afternoon centers.

Physical Development: Discussed: Do you think an egg can roll? Why or why not? I showed the children how the egg can roll. We brainstormed why the children think the egg doesn’t roll straight. The children pretended to be an egg and rolled on the floor. They then practiced rolling fast and slow.

Physical Development:Discussed: How do you like your eggs prepared? Explained that the decorated eggs some people make at Easter are real and are hard-boiled. This means they are cooked with their shells on and can be eaten once the shell is removed. We discussed the types of eggs the children liked to eat; hard-boiled, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, egg salad, etc.

Mathematics and Reasoning: Discussed: What do you do with the eggs you find at Easter? Many Easter traditions have formed around eggs. We laid out eggs and I had the children count them. One child got to roll the dice and count the dots on top. I had that child pick up the same number of eggs and place them in the basket. After that, the child hopped that same number of times. We did this until each child had a turn.

Afternoon Centers:Center 1:Outside playCenter 2: Bunny Basket- Each child got a basket to paint, and then they put on the eyes and nose. We gave them one plastic egg to put in their basket with a surprise inside.

Calendar:Discussed the date in English and Spanish and wrote it in number form. Thomas put the number on the calendar, discussed the weather, and found the day of the week in Spanish. We reviewed our colors, shapes, sight words, Spanish, and Sign Language words. We also discussed the pattern.

Fun Facts/Brainstorming: We reviewed what they learned about bluebirds. Today we discussed woodpeckers, and how they can make a knocking sound. Fun Facts: The size of a woodpecker depends on the species. The largest woodpecker can reach 20 inches in length. The smallest woodpecker is usually 3 to 4 inches long. Woodpeckers are usually red, white, black, and yellow in color. Their plumage can also be a combination of orange, green, brown, and golden color. Woodpeckers have very long tongues which is designed for capturing of prey. Woodpeckers are omnivores. They eat insects, insect larvae and eggs, tree sap, seeds, and nuts. Woodpeckers have chisel-like bills that are used for drilling of the trees, to search for food or to prepare its nest during the mating season. Both males and females are able to drum the trees. Since woodpeckers do not have vocal cords, this activity also plays an important role in communication.

Language and Literacy:Discussed: Who knocks on your door? We looked at the Participation Story and I asked them what they thought the story would be about. After the story we discussed the questions. What kind of house is in the woods? ( A tree house) Who was making the knocking noise? ( The mama bird was the one knocking) What kind of knocking pattern can you play? Each child played their own pattern by knocking on the floor.

Mathematics and Reasoning: Discussed: What kinds of bugs have you seen? A woodpecker actually helps the trees. The woodpecker hunts and eats bugs that hurt the trees, such as wood-boring larvae and carpenter ants. We had a shoe box with holes cut in the lid. We put cereal inside the box to represent bugs We pretended we were a woodpecker and the children came up using tongs to pull out the pieces of cereal and they sorted them by color or size.

Social and Emotional Development:Discussed: How much do you eat in one day? I explained that a bird has to eat at least half its weight in food each day to survive. We had number cards and bug cards. We first matched the number of bugs on a card to the correct number. The children took turns doing this. We then used the “+” and the “=” sign to make math problems with the bug and number cards.

Creative Development:Discussed: How fast can you tap on the floor? A woodpecker can peck about 10-20 times a second. It has special claws to fight gravity and a head that is made to protect its brain from the back and forth motion. We looked at the woodpecker puppet they will be making in afternoon centers. We stretched the rubber-band and watched the woodpecker bounce down it.

Tumble Bus Day:See the form by the front door to see what they played on the bus today.

Afternoon Centers:Center 1:Outside Play Center 2:Woodpecker Puppet-The children painted the woodpecker and decorated it. They taped a straw piece inside the tab and then we slid a rubber-band through the piece. We stretched it to watch the woodpecker bounce down. Center 3: Bug Sheet- the children had to cut out their bugs, numbers and symbols and make their own math problems like we did together above.

Calendar:Discussed the date in English and Spanish and wrote it in number form. Thomas is the calendar boy for this week. He put the number on the calendar, discussed the weather, and found the day of the week in Spanish. We reviewed our colors, shapes, sight words, Spanish, and Sign Language words.

Fun Facts/Brainstorming: We reviewed what they learned about tails. Today, we discussed bluebirds, and what color is their favorite bird. Fun Facts: The eastern bluebird is among the three bluebirds that belong to the thrush family. The other two are the mountain bluebird and the western bluebird. The western bluebird is also known as the American bluebird, Wilson’s bluebird, and Common bluebird. The bluebird is the official bird of Missouri and New York. It measures between 5.5 to 7 inches and lives no longer than 6 years. These song birds are very social creatures. They are fond of gathering in flocks of more than 100.

Science:Discussed: How do you think an adult bluebird helps teach its fledglings to fly? I poured birdseed into a bowl and put it on the floor. After, I picked a child that was sitting quietly to come up and stand on the stool beside me. I asked the child to hold on to me with one arm and flap his other arm like a bird and jump off. They had just experienced what it was like to be a fledgling. I asked each child to feel the birdseed and describe it to the class. Each child came up to feel the birdseed and described it in his or her own words.

Language and Literacy:Discussed: What makes you happy? How do you show it? I showed them the ASL card: Bird and we practiced the sign. Bird-using only thumb and index finger, open and close in front of mouth/nose twice. We pretended to be happy bluebirds and sad bluebirds, along with other emotions.

Physical Development: Discussed: What color birds have you seen? I showed the children the blue color wand and asked each child to take the wand around the room to find something blue.

Mathematics and Reasoning: Discussed: What kinds of things protect you? Most bluebirds lay blue eggs. However, you may occasionally find white or cream colored bluebird eggs. I showed them the My Little Journal page with the color blue on it. I explained that they had to draw bluebird eggs on the page. They are to count the number of eggs they drew and put that number on top of their page. Afterwards, they are to use shredded paper to make a nest around their eggs.

Creative Development:Discussed: How can you sing like a bird? A bluebird is considered a songbird. When it breathes in air, it sings a musical call. I showed the children the Song Bird Shaker art they would be making that afternoon.

Show and Tell: Each child was to bring a blue shape. They came up one at a time to show their item and tell us the shape and color.

Afternoon Centers:Center 1:Little PeopleCenter 2:My Little Journal- On the page with the blue crayon, they are to draw blue eggs and then write the number of eggs on the top of their page. After, they are to use shredded paper to make a nest around their eggs. Center 3: Song Bird Shaker- They are to fill the blue tube with bird seed and cap both ends. They are to use sticky eyes to decorate it, glue on the beak and wings, shake, and enjoy!

Calendar:Discussed the date in English and Spanish and wrote it in number form. Thomas is the new calender boy for this week. He put the number on the calendar, discussed the weather, and found the day of the week in Spanish with help from the children. We reviewed our colors, shapes, sight words, Spanish, and Sign Language words. We discussed the pattern.

Fun Facts/Brainstorming:We reviewed what they learned about feet and claws. Today we discussed tails, and how a birds tail controls the direction in which it flies. Fun Facts: A bird’s tail consists of a tailbone, a set of flight feathers, and a layer of covering feathers at the base of the tail. Tail feathers are arranged in overlapping pairs. Beginning with the outer pair of tail feathers, each succeeding pair of tail feathers overlaps on top of the other. The tail serves a number of aerodynamic functions. It provides lift for a major portion of the birds body because the wings are positioned slightly forward of the birds center of gravity. Bird tails also provide support and balance. Birds with unusually long tails are adapt at making quick turns in flight. Several male birds use their tail to display themselves during mating season or to give a warning signal.

Language and Literacy:Discussed: How can you send a message to someone? Birds tails can send a message. When it fans out or twitches, it may be warning other of danger. Sometimes a fanned out tail says, “I love you!” I showed them the post card which had a bird on it. I asked the children what was missing from the bird, they said the tail was missing! They each will get a postcard and will have to color a tail onto the bird.

Physical Development:Discussed: What foods do you eat that is like bird food? I explained that we do eat many of the same foods as birds eat: berries,nuts and seeds. I showed them the recipe card and we made birds with crackers, pretzel sticks, peanut butter, raisins and baby carrots. The kids enjoyed making the birds, as well as eating them!!

Social Studies:Discussed: Where have you seen birds? We discussed that birds live everywhere. They live on every continent, except Antarctica. We taped strips of paper to the world map and discussed what type of food the birds might eat, depending on their location.

Mathematics and Reasoning: Discussed: Why do you think that some birds can’t fly? I showed the children the keys and had them say the name of the birds on the keys. One was an ostrich and the other was a hummingbird. We read the clues out loud and I had one child choose which bird might fit the answer. We did this with every clue. We then opened the chest to see if the children were right!

Language and Literacy:Discussed: Where do you see feathers? I showed children the My Little Journal page they would be doing that afternoon.I showed the children how to write the letter “N”. I showed them the right way, and the wrong way to write it! Each child came up to the white board and practiced it with me. It was the “N” page, they cut pieces of paper up and covered the letter “N” they practiced writing on the page.

Afternoon Centers:Center 1:Wooden blocksCenter 2: Postcard- the children had to draw with crayons the missing tail on the peacock. They wrote on the back whom they would want the postcard to go to. Center 3: My Little Journal: They went to the “N” page and practiced writing the letter. At the top of the page they wrote a big “N” and covered it with scrap paper.

Calendar:Discussed the date in English and Spanish and wrote it in number form. Gretchen put the number on the calendar, discussed the weather, and found the day of the week in Spanish. We reviewed our colors, shapes, sight words, Spanish, and Sign Language words. Gretchen told us the pattern on the calendar.

Fun Facts/Brainstorming: We reviewed what they learned about the body. Today we discussed the wings and what the children could do if they had wings. What couldn’t they do? Fun Facts:Passive soaring wings have long feathers that spread out, creating “slots” that allow the bird to catch vertical column of hot air called “thermals” and rise higher in the air. Examples of birds with this wing type included eagles, most hawks and storks. Active soaring wings are long and narrow, allowing birds to soar for a long time. However, these birds are much more dependent on wind currents than passive soaring birds. Examples of birds with this wing type are Albatrosses, Gulls, and Gannets. Elliptical wings are good for short bursts of high speed. While they allow high speed, the speed cannot be maintained. Examples of birds that have this wing type are Crows, Ravens, Blackbirds, Sparrows, and Thrushes such as the American Robin. High-Speed wings are long and thin, but not nearly as long as birds with active soaring wings. As the name suggests, birds with this type of wing are incredibly fast, but unlike those with elliptical wings, these birds can maintain their speed for a while. Examples of birds that have this wing type are Swifts, Ducks, Falcons, Ferns, and Sandpipers.

Language and Literacy:Discussed: Where do you think is a good place for a nest? I showed them the hands on letter N and asked them to say the /n/ sound. We discussed what syllables are. The children learned that a syllable is the number of vowel sounds they hear in a word. We said each child’s name and clapped out how many vowel sounds (syllables) were in their names. We clapped out the syllables of N words (nest,noodle,nose, napkin). We looked in the dictionary and went through the N words and clapped out tons of words till they got the hang of how many syllables were in words. Gretchen was the first child to catch on and was getting every word right. I then had each child do it on their own without help and they were doing pretty good. Some of them need practice but I was amazed at how well they were able to tell me how many syllables were in words. Maggie, Thomas and Abby caught on very quickly also. Gretchen continued saying words at lunch and told us how many syllables were in the word.

Language and Literacy: Discussed: What would make you scared enough to fly away? I showed the children the sight word circles and they repeated the words. I wrote the new sight words, one word at a time on the wipe-off board. The children had to tell me the sound of each letter and sound the words out. We then used these words in sentences. The new words are: play, see, away. I read the I Can Read story out loud but when I came to a sight word the children had to read that.

Mathematics and Reasoning:Discussed: Where would you fly if you were a bird? Birds tend to fly back and forth from places by following the same paths. Some birds migrate thousands of miles and always go the same way. I showed the children the counting card and had them take turns putting the foam shapes on the counting card until the card was full of 18 foam shapes. We counted to 18 in English and Spanish. The children used the hands-on number 1 and 8 to put in the correct order to make a number 18. We counted to one and eight in English and Spanish. The children came up one at a time to practice writing the number 18 on the wipe-off board. We looked at the Journal page they will be doing in afternoon center.

Social and Emotional Development: Discussed: Why is it sometimes hard you to wait for something? Many birds have to wait for flying feathers before they can fly. I showed them the Gosling and we said the word patient very slowly. The word patient means to wait for something. I placed two Ritz crackers in front of each child and asked them to be patient and wait to touch it. We then discussed the number 18 and I gave one child at a time permission to eat their snack while the others had to wait. It was so funny watching them wait and be patient. The babies were not patient and wanted to take the lesson kids treats so we had to give them a cracker so that they wouldn’t take the other kids’ crackers.

Show and Tell:Each child was to bring in an item that begins with the letter N. They came up one at a time to show the item they brought and discuss why they brought it.

Afternoon Centers:Center 1: Outside Play Center 2: I Can Read book- each child got a book that they colored with crayons and circled the sight words. Center 2:My Little Journal- The children went to the page with the 18 on it. They dipped the cotton swab in paint and made 18 bird feet prints on the page. They then practiced writing the number 18 on the page.